A mum has been left with life-long pain after she had "accidental" crowns fitted in Turkey.
34-year-old Zeba Ali from London was left in "absolute agony" after travelling more than 2,000 miles across the globe for private dental treatment.
She remembers having no worries regarding her "pearly whites" apart from one tooth on her bottom set, which she claimed was misaligned.
Zeba was motivated by the dream of having a perfect "Hollywood" smile, and because dentists in the UK are so expensive, she opted for a consultation.
As UK dentists are costly, she decided to consult a dentist based in Istanbul, Turkey, who she claims sold her a dream holiday alongside five-star dental treatment.
Upon a five-minute video consultation, Zeba – who is mum to four-year-old Noah – was advised to have veneers.
As the dentist was top-rate, she trusted their decision and booked herself in for the procedure.
But it massively backfired, and she is now suffering from wide-ranging issues, such as non-stop sensitivity and unbearable pain.
She can't even drink or eat normally, as her teeth were "accidentally" shaved into pegs.
Zebra told NeedToKnowOnline: "I asked to look in the mirror, as I didn’t know what they were doing because I couldn’t feel anything and I ran out crying.
“I felt my heart sink and was completely speechless – but it was too late.
"I was in a state of shock, because I thought they would be placing 'prepless' veneers' and wouldn’t touch my natural teeth.
“Initially, I spoke to the dentist via WhatsApp and from there, they organised a free video consultation with me, where they asked me to open my mouth so they could have a look.
“As she was a five-star rated dentist, I put my trust in her and didn’t care about the money, as I wanted my teeth to be sorted.
“I was hoping to finally have aligned teeth, as well as being promised a luxury hotel with spa.
“However, the experience was completely different from how they portrayed it and it was awful from the start."
In March 2022, Zebra splurged £2000 on a whitening, hygienist service and the main procedure.
When she arrived she was preparing for a face-to-face consultation, but instead immediately visited surgery.
She said: “I thought perhaps there wasn’t anything else I needed to know and I didn’t say anything as I put my complete trust in them.
“I didn’t think prepless veneers involved shaving down natural teeth, especially as mine were healthy.
“I informed them I wasn’t told this was going to happen and the procedure would be reversible – but they only apologised for the mistake.
“They neglected to tell me vital information and failed to mention that my teeth would be ruined forever.
“I was devastated, so immediately got up and left after the veneers, which were actually crowns, were placed.”
While she still boasts natural teeth on her top set, they also shaved two of these down for “aesthetic” reasons – and Zeba claims this never would have happened in the UK.
Zeba said: “Over here, they wouldn’t touch my teeth as they were completely healthy and there was no need.
“They would’ve turned me away and given proper orthodontic treatment or composite bonding instead.
“I was told that the teeth would have a clean ‘veneer’ look and instead, they look thicker, which I hate.
“After the numbing wore off, I felt the intense pain and since, I’ve had a constant problem in one of my teeth which often feels like a ‘prickling’ feeling.
“I was offered to go back after I had complained and in April, they gave me a root canal to remove the nerves within that tooth.
“Now, the pain has worsened and I’m considering getting the tooth extracted completely or having a dental implant as I can’t live like this.
“I’m a single mum and it’s affecting my parenting as I’m being short and snappy with my child often.
“Even while talking, I can feel the vibration within my teeth which affects my speech.
“It’s left me with a serious complex and it’s put severe pressure on my mental health.
“Financially, it’s been a huge burden as I can’t keep taking time off to go back there and I’ll have to get expensive maintenance treatment for the rest of my life.”
Zeba claims she was told the sensitivity would subside after six months, but five months later, there’s still been no sign of this.
Due to the pain, she decided to visit her regular dentist in the UK, who told her the crowns will need to be replaced every five or 10 years.
Now she’s advised others who are interested in having dental work in Turkey to do thorough research.
Zeba added: “Do your research and do not trust them.
“Always speak to a UK dentist first to see what they would offer, as they won’t touch you and do irreversible damage.
“I’ve since been told I could have had braces or invisalign, which would have solved the problem and prevented cutting down my healthy teeth into stumps.
“I’ve been offered compensation for the crowns only, which doesn’t even cover all the hotels, flights and transfers I’ve had to fork out for.
“Turkish dentists are only interested in giving you the look you want, even if there’s no return or aftercare.
"I am absolutely gutted and just wish I had been advised not to cut my natural teeth by these money grabbing dentists, I would give anything to have my healthy teeth back.”
Dentist Dr Shaadi Manouchehri, who has been practising for seven years, has shared her expertise on having crowns and the dangers involved with NeedToKnow.Online.
She said: "Crowns are fixed dental prostheses typically used to restore compromised teeth and teeth with multiple existing restorations.
"Shaving healthy teeth down to pegs can result in irreversible nerve damage which can cause pain and infection.
"The treatment required in case of irreversible nerve damage will be root canal treatment or in some cases if the teeth cannot be saved, extraction may be the only option.
"Furthermore, crowns typically need to be replaced every 15 years.
"Getting crowns on healthy teeth at a young age not only compromises the health of those teeth but will also result in ongoing financial commitment of replacement of those crowns as well as further works as needed such as root canal treatments.
"There are minimally invasive alternatives to this treatment in most cases."
